Eye of the Demon
by Jay Watson
Summary: Souta Higuarshi gets to live out the dream of a lifetime when he accidently falls down the well with Kagome and is transported back with her to the feudal era. There, he gets to meet Kagome's friends for the first time and see Inuyasha in his native era.


**Eye of the Demon.**

Ch.1

Fifteen-year-old Kagome Higurashi pants hard as she hurries up the long, stone staircase of her family's shrine. The heavy yellow knapsack slung over her back weighs her down and the burden of carrying it is making it tougher and tougher to climb the steps. Ok, lets see, did I bring everything I need this time? My clothes? My homework? The first-aid supplies? Her mind races with the checklist of the things she has packed up inside her bag.

"Hey, Kagome, wait." Souta, her nine-year-old brother, calls out to his sister. He is not far behind her, caring in one hand the small glass vile containing shards of the Sacred Shikon Jewel within. He watches his sister bound up the stairs two steps at a time while he follows after her.

"I don't have time to talk, Souta. Inuyasha and my friends are waiting for me." Kagome yells back as she continues up the stairs, across the courtyard and towards the shed that covers the Bone Eater's Well. Kagome slides open the outside door to the small structure with a quick flip of her hand and hurries inside. Down the six steps to the dirt floor, she starts to climb over the well's ledge like she has done before.

Kagome was about to slide herself off the ledge to descend into the well, just as she reaches into a pocket of her sweatshirt to recover her Jewel shards. Oh no! Where is it?! She franticly searches her other pockets but her momentum has already sent her sliding off the ledge. Souta finally reaches the entrance to the well house and, seeing Kagome slipping over the ledge, makes a desperate leap to hand her the vile before she disappears down the well. He manages to reach her in one jump but his own momentum carries him tumbling over the ledge too. He calls out to her as he falls into his sister's arms.

Still clutching the glass vile that held the Sacred Jewel shards in his right hand, Souta thrusts the vile into one of Kagome's free hands. As the duo tumble closer to the well bottom, the shards begins to glow brightly. Souta recalls from the time before what it felt like to fall into the well, head first, and then hit the bottom. When he first thought he could use the well like his sister, in order to travel to the feudal era and find Inuyasha. The well did not allow him to cross over between eras and now he was going to get reacquainted with the pain.

Suddenly, a great and howling gale force wind blows around them, a blinding bright flash of light explodes in front of their eyes as the well's magical power begins their journey to the past. The duo tumbles and twirls helplessly in the weightless gravity, hurtling thought time and space.

"Kagome! What's happening?!" Souta cries out over the rushing wind, clutching his sister's hand for dear life. From what Kagome has told him about what it was supposed to feel like when she travels to the feudal era through the well, Souta realizes something must be wrong.

Crossing over between eras never happens like this! What's going on with the well?! Kagome franticly thinks over what could be causing this violent and terrifying trip back to the feudal era. She has made this trip many times and she has never experienced anything like this before. The great swirls of red, yellow and pink lights that surround them vanish in a flash as Kagome and Souta are ejected from the portal with a loud explosive bang, slamming hard into the side of the well at the end of their trip. Stunned and bruised from hitting the wall with such force, the brother and sister slowly regain their bearings and try to make sense of what just happened. For a moment the two of them are not sure if what happened really happened.

Souta is still a little disoriented, rubbing his eyes to clear the spots. "What happened, Sis? Are we dead?"

"Oh no, Souta, I think..." Kagome sputters. She looks down at the small vile of Jewel shards she holds in her hand. The shards! They're glowing so brightly! The two shards of the Shikon Jewel pulse with an angry bright light, as if overheated or strained from use. The light from the shards pulses slower and starts to dim, then fade out completely.

Souta looks up to the well opening above him. The roof that normally covers the well had disappeared, as sunlight was now beaming down the open passage. "Hey, what happened to the roof? Why don't I hear any noise from the city?" He asks his sister, but didn't answer him.

"C'mon, Souta, we'd better climb out of here." She said with a sigh of frustration. The brother and sister struggle at scaling their way up the rough stone walls of the well to the opening, some twenty-five feet above them. They reach the well's ledge and Kagome climbs up and over first, unburdening herself of the knapsack, so she can help her brother. She reaches down the opening, hoisting Souta up to her. Upon emerging from the well, Souta stares breathlessly at his surroundings. Where their home and the grounds of their family shrine should have been, as well as the entire city of Tokyo, was now replaced with a immense forest of trees. The trees surrounded the grassy knoll where the well opening stood as the lone structure. He took a few steps forward, gaping in silence at the sudden change of environment.

"Kagome, what happened to our home? Where is everything?" He asks as he turns to look at her. She could not reply. A feeling of dread gnaws at Kagome's stomach, as she knew well enough where they were.

Then the truth dawns on him.

"Oh wow! I know where we are! We're in the past; back in the Sengoku Jidai, aren't we?!" Souta could hardly contain his excitement, almost giddy with the understanding.

"Souta, this isn't exactly exciting or funny! How am I suppose to explain this to mom and grandpa?!" Kagome stands akimbo and frowns at her brother sternly.

"Hey, it's not really my fault. I was bringing you the shards that you'd left on the bathroom counter. I was trying to save you the bother of a trip back to the house." Souta defends himself from the sudden disapproval.

Kagome sighs to herself, there was no use in trying to figure it all out now. They'd better get moving towards Lady Kaede's village and join up with her friends. Kagome worries about her companion's reaction, especially Inuyasha's, to having Souta inexplicably here. The questions nag at her as to how to handle this little problem. Will they be angry?

"Now, as I am responsible for your safety, you are going listen to and do as I say while you're here." Kagome leads her brother to the village and explains how he is to behave himself. "Your behavior will reflect directly on me so don't do or say anything embarrassing."

"Lighten up, will ya', Sis? It's not like I've never met Inuyasha before. I did have to go and get him from the well when that creepy, old mask of grandpa's came to life and was after the Jewel shards you had. Besides, I'll bet you anything he'll be excited to see me." Souta assures as he rolls his eyes. Why is she being so uptight? Why is it so bad that I'm here?

He's right. I'd forgotten about that incident. Oh, wow, I've been traveling back and forth between eras so much, I totally forgot about that! This is, like, totally dumb of me that I can't even remember what happens, when and where anymore. Kagome recalls the details of that crazy night not so long ago, how Inuyasha had came to save both she and her brother from the possessed mask bent on consuming their flesh. The walk to the village was short and Kagome begins to collect her thoughts on how to explain this.

Inuyasha and the others have been waiting for Kagome to return for the past two days and are eager to continue with their quest. Miroku spots Kagome coming across the rice patty levees accompanied by someone he didn't recognize.

"Kagome is back, but who's that walking with her?" The monk asks his companions. It was too far for he, Sango or Lady Kaede to make out. Inuyasha squints in the direction the monk was looking in, bringing up a hand to his forehead in order to block the rays of the sun setting in his eyes.

"Hey...that's Souta walking with her. What the Hell is he doing here?!" The half-demon's voice rises in both astonishment and annoyance.

"Who?" Miroku and Sango ask in near unison.

"Kagome's kid brother." The half-demon adds flatly.

"Are 'ye sure of it, Inuyasha? It could be one of the children from our village." Lady Kaede steps closer to the half-demon and looks in Inuyasha's direction.

"Yeah...I'm sure of it. I can tell already by his scent." The half-demon frowns at this predicament. Within a few minutes Kagome and Souta have reached the village from the field. Kagome gulps down the hard lump in her throat as to how she was going to explain this. As she was about to say something, the moment of excitement overwhelms Souta and he rushes up to the first person he meets, introducing himself.

"Hi. My name's Souta Higurashi, it's very nice to meet you." He greets one of the local farmers, shaking the old man's hand. Souta went to the next person standing nearby and repeats his introduction. "Hi. My name is Souta Higurashi, it's very nice to meet you." He shakes the hand of a woman standing close by and then kept on introducing himself to as many people. "Hi. My name is..." He repeats to the next person he meets.

"Hey, Kagome, what's the idea of bringing _him _along? We're supposed to be on the look out for more Jewel shards, not babysitting your brother." Inuyasha snarls with dislike at this unexpected surprise.

"Look, it was an accident! I didn't mean to bring him along." Kagome gave the half-demon a frown, hearing him complain already.

"Humph." He snorts. "Let me know when you've straighten your problems out." The half-demon turns on his heal and heads back up to the house to rest, not wanting to be bothered with such minor inconveniences.

"Yes, child, how did 'ye manage to bring thy sibling with you?" Lady Kaede turned to face Kagome, wanting to hear every detail possible.

"I guess...well...it started when I was about to go into the well when Souta jumped in with me. We started falling...there was this big rush of wind and the same bright lights that happens when I cross over...then we landed at the bottom of the well." Kagome tries to remember, it happened so fast that all she could recall were a bunch of blurry images and the sound of Souta yelling as he fell.

"Is that all, child? Are 'ye sure 'ye doesn't wish to remember more?" Kaede persists. There was little she understood of how Kagome could travel between eras and it left much to speculation.

"I thought only you and Inuyasha were able to cross over between the two eras?" Sango adds as she tries to understand the complexity of it as well.

"Hmm," The monk muses, contemplating the possible reasons for Souta being able to cross over with his sister. "Perhaps it's because he is her brother. A blood tie might explain it." Kagome pulls out the glass vile of Shikon Jewel fragments from her pocket and stares hard at it. She remembers reaching into her pocket and not finding the vile there. She remembers slipping off the ledge...then the feeling of Souta colliding with her as she fell down the well.

"Wait...I remember now!" Kagome jerks her head up at her sudden revelation. "It was Souta. He had the shards in his hand and he tried to pass them to me as we fell. We must have been holding hands." Her friends listen to this, seeming to all nod in agreement.

"If you're sure of this, then logically, the same thing could be done to return your brother back to your time." The monk concludes to an end.

"I know I don't need the shards to return to my era, but..." Kagome begins to fear a worst-case scenario in the making, wondering if the well would allow her to bring her brother back home.

"What if the well doesn't work like that again and you can't go back home?" Shippo asks innocently. Everyone suddenly stops talking, not wanting to actually consider that possibility. A flittering cold chill races across Kagome's skin, making her shudder a little at hearing the fox-demon's words. Desperate to not to think too much along those lines, she tries keeping a positive spin on her situation.

"I guess we'll have to wait 'till tomorrow to find out. I can't go through the well twice in one day." Kagome sighs a little, pointing out the small problem she understood about the strange well that brought her to the feudal era.

Souta's excitement had finally worn down after saying hello to just about everyone in the village. When he finally returns to Kagome's side he had become more acclimatized to the feudal era's appearance.

"Ok, who's left that I haven't said hello to yet?" He asks the people who stood around his sister. Kagome lingered around her mentor, making an initial introduction.

"Souta, this is Lady Kaede, the priestess of this village." The young boy bows in respect to the elderly holy woman.

"It's an honor, ma'am."

"As it is for I." Kaede pats the young boy on the head with a smile. He wasn't much older than most of the youngsters she attended to in her daily duties.

"Well, aren't you a handsome young fellow." Sango jokes with a smile, causing the boy to blush a little and momentarily loose his cool.

"Hi. My...my name's Souta Higurashi, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Souta repeats his greeting hurriedly, not wanting to appear intimidated by a pretty girl's presence.

Do not look down at the ground...do not look down at the ground. He reminds himself, trying to remember how to act around his sister's friends if he started to feel nervous.

"My name's Sango, it's a pleasure to know you too." Sango introduces herself. She watches Souta's vain attempt to hide any nervousness and how it only makes him appear that much more adorable. "You never mentioned he was a real lady killer, Kagome." The demon huntress adds with a chuckle, causing a little more scarlet to appear on Souta's face. Fortunately, the monk standing next to her introduces himself to the plucky youngster so as to rescue him from any more moments of awkward silence.

"My name's Miroku." The monk extends his hand firmly, with a grin. Grateful for the sudden relief, Souta shakes the monk's right hand with nervous vigor.

"Hi, I'm Souta. It's great to know you." He smiles up at the monk, relieved to have another guy around to say hello to. Souta glances down at the hand he's shaking, noticing the monk has the palm covered with a tekko and a strand of juzu prayer beads entwining over the palm and wrist. Kagome had once mentioned to him that one of her friends in the feudal era had been cursed by a demon to have a vortex exist in the center of his palm. She told of how this void is so powerful that it is capable of drawing in demons and trapping them in another dimension. "Is that..." He starts asking but Miroku knew what Souta was referring to.

"You want to see it for real?" Miroku narrows his eyes and shoots Souta a roguish smile that looks a little too mischievous for the boy's comfort. But Souta still nods at the question.

"Oh, just cut the drama Miroku and show him." Kagome teases her friend and Miroku smirks at his own silly bravado. For the Tokyo high school girl, she was actually beginning to loosen up and enjoy all of this. She was content in just watching her brother get the thrill of a lifetime. Everyone seemed to take delight in having him here, except for Inuyasha. Kagome looks over to where the half-demon sat on the porch of the house. She had caught Inuyasha glancing over a number of times at them as Souta introduced himself.

With practiced fluidity, the young monk whips off the string of wooden juzu beads from around his hand, allowing him to open the tekko.

"Wind Tunnel!" He calls out in command, pointing the enormously powerful vortex that magically sprang to life from his hand into the sky above them. Souta witnesses for a few seconds the supernatural power the monk possesses. Miroku covers the vortex and rapidly rewraps the beads again around his hand, magically sealing the void shut. Souta is awestruck and maybe even a little fearful by the demonstration.

"Whoa...that's intense." Souta mutters, falling back on his butt, shuddering from what he'd just seen. The thought of being helplessly drawn into the void and disappearing was terrifying. Miroku smiles to himself, seeing he'd made a suitable impression on his audience.

"Hi, I'm Shippo! You must be Kagome's brother." The little fox-demon scurries up to introduce himself to Souta.

"Huh?" Souta stares at the little boy in front of him. Well, not a human boy anyway. No human's eye pupils are the shape of delicate ellipses or had any human have a bushy fox-like tail, he observes. Standing at perhaps two feet tall on his two paw-like feet, Shippo sticks out his tiny-clawed hand in greeting with a huge smile. An unruly mop of reddish-orange hair topped the fox-demon's scalp that was pulled up into a fluffy ponytail, exposing two small pointed demon ears. Souta grasps the hand of the strange looking creature in front of him. "Are you a kitsune?" Souta asks cautiously, unsure of what the response might be as he shakes.

"Oh, you bet! A fox-demon! Full blooded all they way too." Shippo announces with flair, trying to impress Souta as much as possible despite the towering difference in Souta's height. Kilala jumped down off Sango's shoulder and jumped up right onto Souta's, nuzzling affectionately around the boy's neck in greeting with a raspy purr. Initially Souta thought is was just a kitten, but when he holds the creature in his hands to take a closer look, his eyes go wide in surprise.

"Hey, it's a cat. What in the...a cat with _red_ eyes... and _two_ tails?" He held the small demon feline with a sort of confused, yet amazed expression. Souta looks up at Kagome. "Boy, grandpa was right. Things really _were_ different way back when."

Inuyasha sulks on the porch, keeping himself somewhat isolated from his companions. He had been watching his companions making friends with Souta. "Humph! This is just perfect..." The half-demon mumbles to himself, feeling his ego being bruised by his companions for stealing some of his thunder. "At least he'll be gone by tomorrow and won't be underfoot for long." He adds in wishful thinking.

Souta hurries over to say hello to Inuyasha, he'd not seen the half-demon in quite a while and was eager to meet him once again. "Hey, Inuyasha, it's me, Souta. You remember me, right?" Souta waits with baited breath to hear from his idolized hero.

"Can't you see I'm busy, kid?" The half-demon responds in annoyance, conveying his need to take a nap. Cracking opening one eye to look up at the young human boy standing next to him, the half-demon grumbles some unintelligible words as he shifts his weight to get more comfortable. His coarseness momentarily stuns Souta, but he quickly remembers that this is just the half-demon's usual gruff demeanor.

"I'm glad to see you again, too." Souta remarks with a smirk, despite the half-demon's attempt to ignore him. The sun in the sky was slipping further behind the western mountain range as twilight began to peek through, signaling the end of another day. Souta put his hand to his stomach, feeling his gut rumble, in hunger.

"C'mon, it's almost supper time. Let's go get cleaned up." Kagome lead her brother behind the house where they would then wash off some of the day's grime.

That evening, at supper, Souta consumes everything edible in site as he listens intently to his sister and her companions talk of the latest news from the countryside. He feels like he's sitting in on some top-secret meeting. It was so exciting for him. Getting to finally hear what Kagome and her friends talked about.

"I've been up around that area recently and I haven't seen, smelled or heard of anything going on near there." Inuyasha says between the noisy slurps of noodles he shovels into his mouth.

"A trader informed me yesterday that there were highwaymen on the roads more as of late and one band is starting to get bolder. A local samurai had fought off some of these men from his village in the east. They were attempting to steal the village's food supply and any weapons." Miroku adds in the details of what he'd been told, seeing their expressions become more serious in focus.

"They could be looking for Jewel shards, too. Do you think there might be a demon among them?" Kagome asked in dreadful concern.

"Aye, child, 'tis very likely." Kaede's spoke from her obvious experience. After all, she dealt with raiders and bandits that often plague her countryside during times of terrible civil unrest.

All through supper, Inuyasha sat with Kagome on one side of him and Souta on the other. Despite the room's openness and comfortable temperature of a spring evening, he felt an increasing suffocation around him. Almost claustrophobia to say the walls themselves was pressing in on his body. From the corner of one eye, Inuyasha could catch Souta looking up at him and grinning broadly.

"What?! What are you looking at kid?!" Inuyasha barks out with a mouth half-full of noodles, unable to take the staring any longer. Souta just smiles as he looks up at his hero. This human's behavior is rather irritating to the half-demon and wishes it would stop.

"I think you're the coolest." Souta glows in response to the half-demon's question. A confused look crosses Inuyasha's face, as if he'd just heard some strange alien language.

"Huh? What...." Inuyasha started. Kagome smirks and giggles a little behind Inuyasha's back. He turns to face her, glowering, but this did not stop Kagome.

"He was just saying how much he admires you, Inuyasha." Kagome's grin was infectious because everyone was now looking at the half-demon and grinning at hearing the exchange.

Inuyasha gulps down the mouthful of noodles, flushing to a shade of red, suddenly finding himself as the center of everyone's attention. "What are you all lookin' at?!" He snaps at them irritably as he jumps to his feet. "Listen, I'm not _cool_, I'm a demon! And when I've collected up all the Jewel shards I'm going to become the most powerful demon that ever existed!" Inuyasha proclaims loudly in defense of himself as he scans around the room at their faces. A moment of silence hung in the air until Shippo added his two cents worth.

"Yeah, right. That's _exactly_ what you're going to do." The fox-demon's words drip with sugary sarcasm and he could not help but snicker at Inuyasha's statement. The half-demon's friends know him too well to believe such banter, for they were still grinning, despite his proclamation.

"Arrggh!!" He sputters as he stalks out of the house. It took Inuyasha some time to calm himself, trying to figure out what Souta meant by his comment. Humph! The dumb kid...what's his problem? He thinks I'm a drink of water or something. The half-demon snorts in frustration, stomping about, unable to make sense of what Souta had said. Inuyasha finally collects himself before rejoining the others inside again. He listens momentarily before joining his companions to Lady Kaede telling a story to Souta. The companions sit together in the main room of the house, pondering what to do about keeping an eye on Souta, yet still being able to track down more Jewel shards.

"Look, it's no big deal. He'll stay here in the village, while we pair off and go scout out the areas. Right?" Kagome tries to sooth Inuyasha's already soured expression. This was the simplest solution she could think of.

"If you're worried Kagome, I'll stay here and keep an eye on him." Shippo offers. "You can count on me to protect your brother." The little fox-demon stuck out his chest, as if to emphasize how brave he was.

"Feh...now I _know_ the kid's going to be in danger." Inuyasha cracks at Shippo's offer of keeping an eye on Souta. Shippo scowled at the half-demon's smart remark.

"I'm sure everything will be alright, Inuyasha." The monk attempts to dismiss any further disquiet the half-demon might have had about the situation.

"I hope so...it's not like I haven't got enough problems just keeping you three from getting killed half the time. I'm goin' out for my watch." The half demon leaves his companions to stand watch over the village.

Kagome frowned at Inuyasha, hearing the arrogant tone in his words. I don't get it? I thought Souta and Inuyasha had hit it off pretty well the first time they met. Why is he so angry with Souta being here? It was getting late, so it was best to get some rest before each of them had a shift of keeping watch and heading out early in the morning.

Kagome stood in the doorway to the adjacent room, listening to Lady Kaede spin the yarn of story until they both see Souta finally drifting off asleep. For Kaede, it was nice to tell the old stories to another willing young listener. Kagome tucks her brother in, making sure he was comfortable.

As usual, Inuyasha takes first watch. The half-demon is perched on an outcropping of rock near the village's entrance. Sitting stoically on the rock, he keeps a watchful eye on the woods around him. The moon is bright this night so he draws Tetsusaiga from its sheath and looks intently at the sword.

This is my sword. Father left it for me, not Sesshomaru. That's why I've got to master it. I must. The half-demon silently wonders about his heirloom, pondering what his father had wanted him to be and what this sword should be used for.

Inuyasha's senses are tuned to pick up the slightest noise and the sound of footsteps catches his ear. Silent and stealthy, the half-demon slips off his guard post, readying himself to leap out to face what might be lurking about. The footsteps are getting closer, almost around the corner from him. Inuyasha leaps out from where he was hiding swinging Tetsusaiga around and ready to strike. Suddenly, he must pull back on the swing of the blade as he sees it is Souta standing there.

"Whoa! What the Hell is your problem, kid?! What's the idea of creeping around out here? I could have taken you head right off your neck!" The half-demon snarls in anger. Startled, Souta backpedals and then fell backwards at the sudden appearance of the half-demon from out of nowhere.

"What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside?" The half-demon's voice sounding more like a growl then words.

"How can I sleep? I don't want to miss a single moment while here." The boy picks himself up and dusts himself off, his cheerful enthusiasm was obvious to the half-demon. Plunking himself down on a nearby rock, he smiles up at Inuyasha like the way he did at suppertime. Inuyasha pretends not to notice as he practices wielding Tetsusaiga.

"What's with you kid?! Why do you keep looking at me like that?!" The half-demon demands in exasperation.

"You really like my sister, don't you?"

The question caught him so off guard that the half-demon stares blankly back at Souta and nearly falls over.

"Wha? What makes you think I like Kagome?! I never said that!! You some kind of wise ass or something, kid?!" Inuyasha sputters back in defense, towering over Souta like a giant as his anger swiftly rose to protect that sensitive part of his being.

"You don't have to kid around with me. This is between _men_, right?" He winks at Inuyasha, letting him know that it's ok to trust him. Inuyasha feels his want of being upset with the kid slip away. After all, Souta had kept his word about not mentioning all the times Inuyasha crossed over through the well looking for Kagome without her ever knowing. Perhaps he could relax for a moment and talk without feeling pressured to say more then he felt comfortable with. Inuyasha slumps down on another rock near to him and looks over at Souta.

"Well...I guess she's not that bad to have around. I mean, what with her being able to find the Jewel shards and all." The half-demon beat around the bush on the subject of Kagome as he slid his sword into its sheath. He had no idea of what to say or how to say it. He'd never consciously shared any of his thoughts about what he felt inside to anyone.

"You wouldn't have crossed over those times like you did unless you really wanted to see her, right?" The boy asks gently, unsure of how the half-demon respond to his inquiry. Inuyasha sighs heavily as he gropes around for the right words in his mind. There is a long silence only interrupted by the gentle chirping of crickets in the night before Inuyasha said anything in response.

"That's some sister you have their kid. She's kinda'...special." The half-demon confides with a crooked smile and cocked head at the human boy. Souta draws in a silent breath, definitely surprised by what he hears his hero confess to him. He could tell by Inuyasha's look of relief that his half-demon hero just unloaded a huge weight off his chest. Souta simply smiles up at the half-demon.

"Um hmm!" He agrees. Kagome is a special girl.

"Tell me, do you ever talk like this with Kagome?" Inuyasha solicits innocently of his young admirer.

"Sometimes. She and I are kinda' close for brother and sister. She talks to me about... _stuff _once in a while." This piques the curiosity of the half-demon and he perks up. Stalking closer to Souta, he listens with great interest.

"Oh, really?" The half-demon feigns surprise at hearing this. "Like what?" A wolfishly cunning smile crosses his mouth as he wonders what tidbit of information he could pry out of Souta.

"Like how I'm supposed to never tell you anything she and I talk about." Souta gives the half-demon a wink and a smile.

"Wha?" The boy's words take the air right out of Inuyasha as the half-demon's face suddenly goes blank then contorts into a mask of crossed anger. He growls at being led on by Souta. "Why you little twerp! I oughta'..." Souta lunges out of range at Inuyasha's attempt to grab him by the collar. Inuyasha gives a moment's chase after Souta but his anger dissipates as quickly as it came. Souta scampers off back to the house but not before shooting Inuyasha a last smile and wave.

"Stupid kid." He growls to himself.

Ch. 2

The companions rose early before heading out on their scouting duties the following morning. Souta is the second person awake, the wonderful odor of breakfast being prepared filling his nose and telling him to wake up. Turning on his side, he spots next to his sleeping bag a new change of clothes was waiting for him.

Souta quickly sits up to examine the articles closer, reaching out to touch them and marvel at the softness of the fabric. He has to hold them up and turn the clothes over a few times before he understands just what it is. Souta is thrilled to discover it was just like Inuyasha's attire, just a lot smaller. A complete matching outfit consisting of a white hadagi undershirt with a kariginu and nu-bakama dyed a deep sea blue color, rather then the blood red hue like that of that of the half-demon's. Old fashioned or not, it was far and away the coolest surprise he'd ever woken up to find waiting.

As quietly and carefully as he could, Souta changes into the clothes, having some trouble at understanding how it was supposed to fit and stay on his body. He finds himself giddy at liking the idea of getting into 'character', so to speak. Even if it was only for one day, why not try to get into the spirit of the times? After repeatedly adjusting the matching wide obi to hold the attire to some semblance to how he believes it should fit, he saunters confidently into the main room of the house to see his sister kneeling over the cooking pot, making breakfast.

"Good morning." Souta softly greets his sister, trying not to disturb anyone else. Kagome glances up at her brother, grinning at seeing him dressed in the clothes Lady Kaede had gotten for him on such short notice.

"Do you like it?" Kagome asks as she stirred the pot slowly.

"Pretty cool, huh? Pretty _half-demon_ looking, I would say." He jumps into a fearsome fighting stance; much like one he'd seen Inuyasha leap to when facing a foe. Kagome giggles at his remark and pose. "Besides, I look like a total freak of nature in my school clothes next to everyone. It's nice to blend in a little more around here. I don't know how you can take all the staring and odd looks." Soon, the rest of her friends find their way to the main room for the morning's meal. Inuyasha grumbles under his breath all during breakfast, having seen Kagome's brother dressed in a child's size version of his own apparel.

"I think he looks quite dashing in it." Sango remarks with genuine honesty, amused at seeing Souta dressed like he lives in the feudal era. Kagome had caught her little brother gazing several times at length at Sango while he ate his breakfast. Seeing the demon huntress dressed in her black hunting outfit for the first time had made Souta flush and Sango had watched the way he held his hands behind his back, trying to conceal his nervousness.

Kagome thought she'd have a little fun at her brother's expense. "Souta, what do you keep you looking at?"

"Uh...nothing." The boy stammers as he tries to look away at anything else other then the lovely young lady kneeling across from him. Sango had noticed too, but she pretended that she didn't. It was just a harmless case of puppy love.

Souta watches Kagome and her companion's pack up supplies for their excursion, but is irresistibly attracted to watch Sango stretch and warm up outside. Knowing her young admirer was quietly looking on from nearby, the demon huntress thought she'd have some amusement by giving a demonstration of her fighting skills.

Casually, Sango retrieves her hiraikotsu that leans up against a near by tree, hefting the weighty weapon with her right arm. Carved and shaped from the bone of a giant demon her deceased father had slain a long time ago, this weapon has been her preferred choice over others when she'd go into battle against demons. Sango steps back out a short distance from where Souta was sitting. Setting herself, Sango takes three steps and then hurtles the giant boomerang sidearm-style with great strength towards a target she had set up at the other end of the field. The weapon sails through the air, smashing the mounted target into splinters with deadly precision and then soars back to its owner. Sango braces herself for the hiraikotsu's momentum. She grasped its leather strap handle just as it was about to pass over her head. The momentum causes her to side backwards and she lets the energy of the weapon spin her around to face Souta. Swinging the weapon around so that the free end drove into the ground, she skids to a halt only a scant few feet in front of Kagome's brother. He gazes up at the tall and imposing female figure with her fierce expression, appearing to him like some mythical goddess of war brought to life. She can tell by his wide-eyed, admiring stare she has made good on her intention.

"Wow..." He breathes breathlessly.

"Hey, Miroku, I think you've got some competition." Inuyasha jabs at the monk's side with a joking elbow, getting his attention. The half-demon points out to where Sango was standing with Souta, explaining something about her weapon to him. "Guess you're not the only one with eyes for her." Inuyasha guffaws at the monks' expense. But Miroku was not about to let the half-demon get away with such barbs.

"Actually, I'm not at all surprised." The monk nonchalantly remarks at the sight of the demon huntress taking with Souta.

"Huh?" Inuyasha was not expecting Miroku casualness, believing the monk would have gotten at least a little jealous or protective.

"At least he's bright enough to recognize a lovely woman when he sees one, _unlike_ a certain half-demon I know." The monk shoots back with his own jab at the half-demon, reminding Inuyasha of his romantic woes with Kikyo and Kagome. The half-demon growls, disgruntled at the sharpness in which his companion used in returning the slight.

"Alright you two, we'll be back by sunset tonight." Kagome hugs her little brother goodbye as she and Inuyasha start out.

"Will you cut it with the long goodbyes, Kagome? We've got a lot of ground to cover and I'd like to get started sometime today." Inuyasha's voice whines with impatience as he waits.

"Don't worry about him, Kagome. He's under _my_ protection." Shippo boasts proudly. Kilala jumps up on Souta's shoulder, reassuring Kagome that it, too, was staying behind to guard over her brother. The half-demon scoffs at hearing Shippo's haughty tone of words.

"Yeah, right." He mutters aloud. "Can we just get going?" Inuyasha turns in a huff and heads down the road and out of the village with Kagome.

"Bye, Kagome! We'll be fine." The fox-demon and human boy wave as they watch Kagome and Inuyasha disappear down the road and out of sight.

For the rest of the morning, Souta demonstrates to the other children of the village how to play soccer. He finds the other kid's are a quick study and soon they have gotten the idea of how to play. Time fly buy, as before long, it was already time for lunch. The duo of human and fox-demon sit and eat together, making food and play one and the same and enjoying each other's company and friendship.

"Lady Kaede! Lady Kaede!" A voice calls out from down the road. Shippo and Souta look to where the yell came from. A wounded man is being helped by one of the locals into the village.

"By the gods, what happened?" Lady Kaede hurries to the wounded man's side.

"My village...it was attack by some horrible creature. It killed and devoured everyone in its path!" The man explains, his voice trembling with fear of having escaped by hiding. Lady Kaede leads him inside her house and tends to his injuries. "My village is to the west of here...it came this morning and slew the samurai that was there guarding us."

"What did the beast look like?" Kaede questions him, as to gather as much information possible.

"It looked human enough so we didn't think it was a demon, just another warlord raiding the villages for war supplies. But when we refused its demands for our food stocks it grew many times its size and sprouted four arms! It went about slaughtering everyone in its path! By the gods, it was horrible!" The man could no longer contain himself. Lady Kaede tries to clam him and get the stranger to lie back down. Shippo and Souta overhear this from sitting underneath the window on the outside, aghast at hearing the news of another plundered village. "That's the same direction Inuyasha and my sister went. They don't know that monster's out there. I've got to warn them!" Souta was about to run off in a blind panic.

"Oh, no. You're not going to go anywhere." The little fox-demon spoke with resolve, putting his paw down about not letting him run off and do something foolish and rash. "Inuyasha is with her and they all can take care of themselves." Shippo folded his arms across his chest, affirming his authority.

Pausing for only a moment to ponder this fact, Souta proceeds to scoop up both Kilala and the little fox-demon, carrying them off with him.

"You're right. I can't go out after them...at least not by myself." Shippo realizes he's being fox-napped into this situation.

"But...but...I have to keep an eye on you." Shippo tries to argue but Souta was running as fast as his legs could take him, down the road where Kagome and Inuyasha had gone.

"You still are...just in a different location." Souta returns with such a seemingly logical answer that it left the fox-demon without an argument. Souta ran until it seems his lungs would burst with pain. He has to stop and catch his breath after several minutes of hard sprinting.

"At this rate we'll never find them." Souta confesses between gasps of breath, his head dizzy from exertion. Instinctually understanding the need for haste, Kilala jumps out of the boy's hand to the ground. To Souta's amazement, he watches the small feline-like animal morph from tiny kitten proportions to an animal the size of a saber tooth tiger in a flash of yellow and red magical fire.

Souta stands speechless for a moment at witnessing the transformation with his own eyes. Shippo hops up onto Kilala's back and extends a hand for Souta. "Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation?" He was actually going to ride on the back of the creature?

"Awesome!" Souta grins in excitement. He grasps the fox demon's hand, hoisting himself up.

"Better hang on tight!" Shippo warns just as the giant cat took off, following on the scent of its companions.

Kilala's keen sense of smell picks up their friend's trail, it was heading off into a deeply wooded area. Creeping along silently though the woods, they reach the edge of a forest clearing and stumble onto an apparent base camp of sorts. From the cover of a thicket, Shippo and Souta spotted at least fifty men sitting or walking about. By their rough and dirty appearance, they look like a rag-tag collection of mercenaries, thugs and other assorted human rabble. Across the open ground, they could spot Kagome and the others. They are being held by a small group of men as well as some other human survivors from the village that had been attacked, now cowering on the ground in front of them. Slipping back into the relative safety of cover in the forest, the trio sneaks along the underbrush to a closer position near to where their friends were being held. Being small in stature was a benefit as they have an easier time of navigating their way around the dense growth.

Peeking through some low cover, they can see the half-demon lying on the ground almost motionless, enveloped in a green cloud of gas. Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha's sword, lay on the ground near the cloud that was attempting to choke the breath from the half-demon. Kagome, Sango and Miroku stand with their arms pinned behind their backs, unable to free themselves from the large men restraining them.

"Hey, Boss, what'll we do with these? You've already done that one in." One of the thugs remarks with a sideways nod towards Inuyasha as he looks up at the towering leader of this motley crew. The demon's fearsome, glowing green eyes and sinister grin of pointy teeth deny any human content within its humanoid appearing body. With its four arms folded across its broad chest, looking down in satisfaction of knowing the half-demon was suffocating to death; the low rumble of its amused chuckle could be heard.

"Kill the monk, he's useless to us. The women...well, you can have your fun so long as they're disposed of mercilessly." Its voice, deep and menacing, answers in response. A collective gasp came from the surviving women and some begin to weep in despair. The thugs grin in appreciation of a leader who knew how to keep his men well fed and entertained.

"Oh, this looks bad." Shippo groans to his friend, fear creeping into his voice. The duo pulls back into their cover, a frantic expression on both their faces.

"We have to do something! Think...gotta' think...gotta' think." Souta gently raps his forehead with his right fist, trying to come up with an idea to save his sister. Like a bolt of lightning from out of the sky, an idea sprang into his mind.

"Wait...you're a demon, right? You have your own demon powers too, right?" Souta asks as he begins to expound a cunning strategy.

"Huh...? Well, yeah." Shippo answers, not sure of what Souta was thinking.

"Can you change your shape to look like something or someone else?"

Shippo nods to his question. Souta's expression brightens and grew to a huge grin, his idea rapidly turning into a course of action. The fox-demon wonders in fear if what Souta was thinking was going to make him explode right on the spot by the look on his face.

"I think I have an idea. Listen..." Souta pulls Shippo's ear close to his mouth as he whispers the details.

Seconds after explaining himself, the trio split up. Kilala creeps along the undergrowth and hides close by the companions under a clump of dense brush, ready to pounce at the right moment. Souta deftly moves along the woods, finding the gap in the clearing where he was sure everyone could see him from.

The boy watches a thug emerge from out of the area where he was just a few moments ago. The man appears much like the rest of the bandits except for a bushy fox's tail hanging from the rear of his waist belt. Souta is impressed with Shippo's magical prowess. The fox demon skillfully manages to slip into the gathering of bandits to wait for Souta's signal.

Souta readies himself for this. "Eye of the tiger...eye of the tiger..." He repeats with is eyes closed. Trying to steady his breathing, he focuses on what he's going to do. Not wasting one second extra, he sets his idea into motion.

"You killed my mom and dad! I'm going to find the Shogun and tell him what you did! You'll be sorry!" He yells as he charges out of hiding, pointing at the demon and making a dash for the clearing's edge to escape.

He tries to sound as angry as possible to convince them though Souta could feel his hands shake in fear as he ran. "Get that foolish human back here! No mortal shall escape from my capture alive!" The demon swore as he points out to the child running across the field.

That's it! The signal! Shippo recognizes the moment is upon him and he went into motion. He quickly runs off after Souta, trying to make an act of being rough and tough as he manhandles the boy. Souta tries kicking and fussing, protesting at being brought back to the group of frightened villagers. "Bring me the troublesome child! I will cut off his head. His skull will look wonderful along side the others in adorning my pikestaff." The thugs give a laugh at hearing of the demon's intention.

As Shippo leads Souta closer, they both could see the faces of their friends. The shock and fear of recognizing Souta was walking right past them was readily apparent to the duo of rescuers. Aware of the eyes that watch him, Souta forces his face to reveal nothing of his inner thoughts. Exerting all his control, he clenches his jaw, setting the muscles rigid, keeping his gaze carefully expressionless. He glances up at the trio being restrained by the bandits; Kagome and her companions might very well be strangers. As he walks passed them he prays they will not call out to him or do anything to rouse suspicion. Inuyasha feels his anger surge, recognizing the sound of Souta's voice, unable to stop the intended butchery of his friend's brother. The thick fumes were choking him and he could not breathe. He struggles to stay conscious but the gas is so overpowering.

"Bring me this half-breed's sword as well. Why dirty my blade with the job of separating the child's body from it head. I hear the flesh of human children is suppose to be quite tender and juicy, so I'll just make a meal out of his carcass." The demon morbidly jokes with its men as it commands Shippo to do as ordered. The fox-demon did exactly as told, bringing Souta closer to the demon and the sword laying nearby.

That's right, stupid. Make it easier for me to get the sword, Souta thinks secretively to himself in the back of his mind.

Without having to look back, Souta knows by the strangled gasps of his sister and Sango as well as the grunts of struggle Miroku exerts as he tries to free himself, terrified at seeing what was happening.

"Stop squirming you stupid wench! You'll join the boy soon enough!" One guard strikes Sango in the back of her head and she collapses to her knees with a sharp yelp.

"Sango!" Miroku cries, but is hit with a similar blow to his head and he, too, falls to a knee in submission. Souta tries to block out any distractions and continue his plan, squelching the rising feeling of anger and hate for the bandits who held his sister and friends captive. Shippo retrieves Tetsusaiga from the ground and was about to step passed the noxious gas cloud that envelopes Inuyasha.

"Ahhh! It burns! The sword, it attacks me!" The bandit screams out aloud as his body burst ablaze right in front of the demon. Dropping the sword and falling to the ground, the bandit twists and writhes in agony, howling in pain. "Ahhh! I'm burning up!" He wails. The demon rears back slightly, taken by surprise at the sudden fiery display.

"Look he's burning alive!" One thug points as he recoils in fear.

"The sword's cursed!" Another yells out. Some of the bandits step back from the still enflamed sword that lay on the ground. Hearing what his sword has just done, Inuyasha's fading attention is momentarily grabbed.

Tetsusaiga has never attacked a human like that, he tells himself. Only wicked demons that try to pick up the sword are rejected. The moment of distraction is brief. Free from Shippo's grasp, Souta swiftly reaches down and grabs Tetsusaiga by the pommel from off the ground. Taking a deep breath of air, he runs directly into the gas cloud towards Inuyasha.

"What?! Stop that human!" The demon calls out to his men, but only a few dare to enter the large poisonous cloud. The menacing demon looks down at the bandit on the ground in front of it. The magical azure colored flames that engulf the bandit vanish. Grinning, Shippo dispels his illusion in a puff of smoke, revealing his true fox-demon form.

"What the...A kitsune!?" The demon bellows, confused by seeing the diminutive demon creature.

"Ha! Ha! Fooled you good! Pbbbtth!" Shippo mocks the huge demon with a taunting raspberry, running out of the demon's line of sight to safe cover, watching Souta head right for Inuyasha. Souta reaches the half-demon at the center of the cloud, almost unconscious. He thrusts Tetsusaiga into Inuyasha's vacant hands.

"Oh no you don't! Inuyasha, your sword!" Souta calls out to the half-demon as he kept running, letting go of the swords handle. Tetsusaiga, recognizing its master's grip, transforms to its full power. With only the slightest mental command, Inuyasha calls forth his sword's enchanted power of the Wind Scar, clearing away the poisonous gas that surrounds him. With a deep breath of clean air, the poison is expelled from his lungs and the half-demon is now fully conscious, facing the demon that had tried to kill him.

"Hah! I'm going to enjoy cutting you into pieces, pal! Let's see what you've really got when you _can't_ jump me from behind like a coward!" The half-demon declares boldly, the frightful look in his eyes make the bandits back away further by the sudden and unexpected turn-about of situation. Suddenly, Kilala lunges out from its hiding spot, full sized and roaring loudly. The demon feline tackles the stunned humans who restrain the half-demons' human companions. Kagome, Sango and Miroku grab the first weapons they can get their hands on and start fighting for their lives.

In seconds, men yell and charge into action, the sound of steel ringing on steel fills the air and the battle is joined. Souta stops running once he felt the sting of the cloud on his skin cease. He turns around to see Inuyasha now standing up, wielding Tetsusaiga and about to charge the demon. The noise and sight of the battle is almost unreal. It worked! It really worked! Souta thought excitedly as he watches, transfixed by the sight of what he has accomplished. Souta looks up, mistakenly thinking he has run further the he actually did. He is still well within the creatures' striking range and he now realizes this too late. His gaze is caught and held. Mesmerized, he stares at the terrifying demon, unable to free himself. Souta feels himself wither beneath the intense gaze.

"You!!!" The demon roars furiously. Paralyzed with fear, Souta hears a great sucking in of air followed by a tremendous whoosh as he sees a billowing gas cloud emerge from the demons' mouth.

"Leave him alone, you filthy demon!" Inuyasha cries as he swings Tetsusaiga in a ferocious arc, bringing the sword down on two of the demons' own swords it held. The half-demon battles on with intense ferocity, fighting four arms wielding three weapons at the same time. With a mighty slash and thrust of his blade, Inuyasha cleaves off two of the demon's four arms and the creature howls in agony at having its limbs severed. The sounds of the battle around him finally snap Souta to attention as he sees the green cloud rushing towards him. He can't run away fast enough and the cloud quickly engulfs him. He takes a step or two more, coughs violently and falls to the ground unconscious.

"No! Souta!" Inuyasha's voice carries over the din of battle, landing on Kagome's ear with alarm. She quickly turns around to see her brother falling to the ground inside the gas cloud surrounding him. Panic grips Kagome as she fights her way across the field. Kilala has seen this too and was rushing head long into the cloud, snapping up Souta by the collar of his kariginu and out of the harmful fumes.

"Bastard!! You're gonna' pay for that!!" The half-demon roars, anguish in his voice as he hurtles himself at his foe. He brings his sword thundering down on the demon, passing the blade of Tetsusaiga three times through the demon's body. The demon gives a strangled gurgle and then bursts into a column of emerald green flames, burning into a pile of ashes in a matter of seconds, only to leave behind the two Shikon Jewel shards remaining on top. The few bandits and thugs that had stayed to fight the companions that did not flee for their lives already did so now. They had seen the demon vanquished at the hands of Inuyasha and fled into the countryside, fearing their fate would be much like the creature they followed.

"Oh no...Souta! Souta!" Kagome screams, a terrifying, pitiful sound that pierced Inuyasha like a spear. She fell down by her brother's side, putting her ear over his mouth and nose. There is no sound.

"He's not breathing! He's not breathing!" Kagome franticly looks up to her friends. "Help me!" She cries to them. Sango rushes passed the half-demon and monk, dropping her wakizashi as she goes to Kagome's side.

"What do you want me to do?" She tried to remain calm, even though her own heart was pounding fiercely in her chest.

Quickly, Kagome tries to demonstrate. "Hold you hand under his neck here like this and pinch his nose closed." She instructs, her hands trembling with the terror. "When I tell you, push as much air into him through his mouth." Sango looks back in confusion; unsure of what Kagome was thinking. Nodding, she would do as instructed. Kagome places her hands over Souta's chest and begins to rhythmically push down on his rib cage.

"One one-thousand...two one-thousand...three one-thousand...four one-thousand...five one-thousand, breathe!" Kagome turns to face Sango as she yells the word, and Sango understands what to do. The demon huntress exhales as hard as she could into Souta's body.

Miroku watches on, heartsick, uncertain what to do. He and Inuyasha could only look, helpless as Kagome and Sango repeat the process four times more. With a sudden and violent jerk, Souta begins coughing and gasping for air.

He's alive! The half-demon watches with amazement. I can't believe the kid's alive after being hit with the gas cloud!

"We have to get him back to the village. He needs Kaede's help!" Kagome urgently demands.

"I'll carry him back, you guys catch up." Inuyasha offers without a second thought as he pulls Kagome's brother onto his back. Souta keeps coughing, a good sign that he was alive and it reassures the half-demon. "Hang in there, kid. I'm gonna' get you back to Kaede for help." The half-demon looks back over his left shoulder, staring right into Souta's half open eyes. The boy's grip was weak and the half-demon worries silently if Souta was strong enough to make it.

In a blazing flash of red, Inuyasha took off in a run back to the village. He could feel Souta struggle to hand on. The half-demon looks back at his young human friend, Souta's eyes were slipping closed. "C'mon kid...hang in there!" The half-demon's voice strains with desperation. Souta's eyes slowly drift over to his hero, the half-demon glancing back again with a look of anger and fear. "C'mon kid...fight it! You've gotta' fight it!" He pleads, looking directly into Souta's eyes. Souta's head throbs in pain, the daze of gas sickness and lack of air in his lungs make everything hard to understand. His ears ring with the rush of his heartbeat and his labored breathing.

Souta stares into the amber colored eyes of the half-demon, his hero's words reverberating in his head. Fight it, he thought. He's got to fight to stay conscious or else he's going to die. From deep down inside, the future soccer star finds the strength to tighten his grip around Inuyasha's neck. Souta grit his teeth, making a fierce expression of determination as he forces himself to breathe deeply. His lungs burn in pain, his stomach clenches from want of retch in nausea and he coughs violently hard, but he would not give in to the dizzy feeling of sleepiness.

"That's it kid! Fight it! Don't let it beat ya'! Show it whose boss!" Inuyasha feels the grip tighten still more as he shouts his encouragement. He chances to let a small smile glance across his mouth, looking back to see the kid fighting to stay awake. He spots the village up ahead and closing fast. The half-demon smiles a little more.

Ch. 3

Several tense and tear-filled hours pass before Lady Kaede steps out from her house to face the companions. None could go inside while she worked, they were too overcome with emotions to be any help to the experienced priestess. Miroku has found a quiet tree to pray under, focusing his spiritual powers for the recovery of Kagome's brother. Inuyasha paces around in a circle, arms folded within the sleeves of his karginu, wearing an expression of tense patience on his face. Shippo sat atop rock near the dwelling, feeling miserable and trying not to cry in fear of what Souta's fate might be.

"Kaede, is Souta..." Kagome could barely talk, her emotions choking her words as she clung to Sango for support. The elderly woman smiles in wanting to stop the worrying.

"Worry not, child, he'll be alright. Whatever poisons he breathed in have left him weak. Let him rest, for now." The priestess' words lifted the pall that hung over the companions and they all breathe a collective sigh of relief. "He is quite strong for a boy his age." Kagome is giddy with relief as she nearly collapses in her friend's arms. She silently swore from now on, she'd go to every one of Souta's soccer games. His favorite sport had made him healthy enough to withstand the poison's effects.

"Can we see him? Is he awake?" Kagome asks her mentor.

"Be brief with him, talking with 'ye will tax what strength he has." The elderly priestess warns them. The five-some silently enter the house, seeing Souta lying very still on a sleeping bag near the fire. Kagome can see her brother's shallow but steady breath rising and falling in his exposed chest. They move quietly up to his bedside. He hears them entering and now kneeling beside his bedroll. Souta's eyes creep open half way, smiling weakly at seeing Kagome over him.

"Hi, sis..." He tries to speak but Kagome shushes him.

"Shhh...don't try to talk. We just wanted to make sure you're ok." She gently brushes back some of his hair from his face. "You're going to be alright. Kaede applied some ointment on your chest so you should be able to breathe easier now." Kagome smiles down at her little brother. He looks so helpless lying there that it tears at her heart. Souta sniffs the air, an acrid odor penetrates his nostrils and he cringes at it.

"It smells like something died." He said matter-of-factually. The companions stifle a laugh at his quick remark.

"Just rest yourself. We can leave when ever you feel strong enough to go." Kagome held his hand in hers, finding solace in having her little brother safe with her.

"Ok." He smiles to her and her friends. By their worried looks and tear redden eyes he figures he must have been in real danger of dying. Kagome and her friends rose to leave his bedside. Shippo looks back, seeing Inuyasha still lingering by Souta's side.

"Hey, are you coming Inuyasha?" The fox-demon asks quietly.

"Gimme' a second, will ya'?" He snaps in irritation. Shrugging, Shippo follows his friends out the house. The half-demon looked down at the kid, a relieved expression on his face. Souta risked his life to help me, Inuyasha wonders to himself. He's got more guts then I first thought.

The small boy opens his eyes again to see his hero still at his side. "Inu...yasha..." Souta calls to his hero with weak excitement.

"Easy, kid, don't push yourself." Inuyasha felt Souta grasp his wrist and he looks down to see the kid's small hand holding onto him.

"Eye of the demon..."Souta says in a loud whisper, a broad smile on his face as he looks back up at the half-demon. Inuyasha did not understand what he was talking about.

"Huh...I don't get it, kid?" He mutters, confused by Souta's strange remark. When he looks down again at Souta, the boy was fast asleep as exhaustion finally consumed his last bit of energy. He felt the kid's grip loosen and fall away as Souta fell into a deep, restful sleep. Inuyasha knelt there a moment longer, unsure by what Souta had meant by what he said. He left Souta's bedside to join his friends outside who sat together, quietly consoling and reassuring each other that the worst has passed and they could maybe now relax.

"What did you say to Souta, Inuyasha?" Shippo asks, seeing the half-demon emerge from the entrance. Inuyasha turns to face the fox demon with a perplexed expression.

"Eye of the demon. That's what he said to me." He states flatly, not really sure what it meant.

"Huh?" Shippo was just as confused by the phrase as his half-demon companion.

"Don't you mean tiger, Inuyasha?" Kagome overheard the half-demon talking to Shippo. The half-demon shrugs at her words. He has not a clue to what she is taking about.

"It a phrase people say in my era; 'Eye of the tiger'." Kagome explains to her confused friend.

"Hmm...what does it mean; 'Eye of the tiger'?" He asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Souta slept through the rest of the day and night peacefully. Astonishingly, he rose with the early morning sun, feeling his appetite return, as he smells breakfast being made. His sister is glad to see him well and up already.

"Feeling better, Souta?" She asks encouragingly.

"I think so. Hey, what smells so good? I'm hungry." He begins looking over the food available and reaches out for a bowl. Kagome smiles approvingly. Yep, he's definitely felling better. She breathes a sigh of relief and joins in the morning's conversation.

After breakfast, Souta sat outside on the porch to wait for Kagome to pack her things and take him home. He has changed out of the outfit lent to him and was now dressed back in his school uniform. Lady Kaede has let Souta keep the clothing as a souvenir of his trip to the feudal era. Inuyasha came over to sit beside him, seeing the rather serous expression on the youngster's face and was wondering what Souta could be thinking about.

"Hey, kid, you did alright the other day; I mean for a human of course. You surprised us all and impressed me, and I'm not the type that impresses easily." Inuyasha says with brashness as he smiles at Souta, laying an assuring hand on the kid's shoulder. Souta looks up at Inuyasha, this time his eyes were wide and had a glassy appearance to them.

"I could have been killed by that demon. Kagome could have been killed, all of us could have." His voice is small and quiet as he rethought about the battle he had been a part of. Kagome had finished packing her things and was about to step out onto the porch. She stops and caught a glimpse of Inuyasha and her brother sitting together and talking. She hides back in a doorway and overheard their conversation.

"_Could_ have, Souta, but we weren't and that's all that matters." Inuyasha could see Souta's hands tremble, thinking about just how close to death he actually came. The half-demon shows him the two small Jewel shards he had helped to recover held in his open palm. The small fragments glimmer in the light of the early morning sun. Souta looks at the Jewel shards and shakes his head in amazement. He thought of his sister and her quest to collect up all the pieces of the Shikon Jewel.

"How does Kagome do it? I mean, how can she deal with fighting monsters and demons yet still try to live in our time as well?" The boy asks, more to himself then to the half-demon next to him, while looking down at the ground.

"Huh? It beats the heck out of me how she does it, kid. I haven't figured it out either." The half-demon scratches his long, slivery-white hair in wonderment, then just shrugged and gave up on the question. Inuyasha understood Souta had been very afraid of the danger he had to face for the first time. But seeing how Souta had acted with bravery for such a little kid to help his sister and her friends, this wouldn't be forgotten by the half-demon. "You were pretty brave and...I'm glad that you were there to help out." The half-demon begrudgingly admits.

Kagome drew in a silent gasp at what she'd heard. Inuyasha was actually saying thank you to Souta for helping?! She almost couldn't believe her ears. Inuyasha continued: "Not to mention you were pretty sharp in outsmarting that demon. Tell you what, I'll let you do the one thing I know you've wanted to do for some time." Quickly, Inuyasha looks around to be sure no one was nearby or looking in their direction. Souta looks up again at Inuyasha, who gave the boy a wry smile while leaning his head closer to Souta.

"Alright, go ahead." Inuyasha sighs, somewhat defeated in tone.

Souta realizes that his hero was allowing him to touch Inuyasha's very dog-like half-demon ears. Both Kagome and their mother were the only humans to ever 'play' with his ears. Even though Inuyasha disliked it very much when anyone did that, this one time he would make an exception. Souta's expression brightens instantly as he begins to gently tweak Inuyasha's ears with great joy and a giggle. Kagome felt a warm tug at her heart, witnessing the bond between her little brother and Inuyasha. She could see Inuyasha's expression soften, as if he's enjoying himself with Souta.

"Eye of the _demon_, huh?" Inuyasha looks up and shot Souta a playful grin, Kagome having explained what Souta had meant by that remark. Souta gently gasps at hearing of his hero's understanding how he admires the half-demon so. It makes Souta's heart jump in excitement.

"Grrr!" Souta growls like his half-demon hero, causing Inuyasha to smile more in satisfaction. Maybe being someone's idolized hero isn't such a bad thing after all.

Kagome did not want to interrupt this special moment for both of them but knows she and Souta have to head back to the well. "Well, I'm all ready to go. Are you ready Souta?" Kagome announces loudly, while she pretends to come out from inside the house. Inuyasha quickly jerks his head up and out of Souta's hands, fearful of being spotted by Kagome as to letting another human touch his ears.

"Well, it's about time! I'm gettin' pretty sick of having another useless human hanging around all the time and getting in the way!" Inuyasha spat out in annoyance of dealing with her brother over the past two days. Kagome pretended not have seen or heard anything as Inuyasha rants. He tries to put on his tough half-demon act, but Kagome knew better and lets the half-demon carry on.

Souta did not say much while walking along side Kagome. He quietly listens to Inuyasha and Miroku tell him some of the adventures they and his sister have been on together. Kagome had been upset at first for Souta disobeying her, but was very proud of how brave her brother was and how clever he and Shippo had been in their plan.

"Sly as a fox wouldn't you say, Souta?" Shippo quips with a little smugness at the success of their rescue. Kagome grins at hearing such a _human_ expression coming from Shippo.

"Yeah...yeah...don't get too full of yourself there, Shippo. It's not like you save our necks all the time, you know." The half-demon tries deflating the fox-demon's ego but Shippo is reveling in the fact that it was he, Souta and Kilala who came to the rescue.

The companions escort both Kagome and Souta back to the well late that morning. Standing around the well, they watch Kagome climb over the ledge and dangle her legs down into the opening.

"Kagome, wait, I have an idea." Miroku retrieves from a secret hidden pocket within his kesa a small black bag. Opening the drawstring around the pouch, he shakes out the three shards he holds as his own. "Here," He hands Kagome his shards, "This might help you return yourself and Souta to your own era." Kagome takes the shards from him, grateful for the offer.

"Here, you can take mine too." Sango suddenly offers her two shards to the pile, wanting to assure a safe trip for her friends.

"I don't really need them to go home, only to come back." Kagome explains but Miroku would not hear any of it.

"We don't know how this well truly works, Kagome. Without the shards, you may not be able to take your brother or yourself back home. It's better not to risk it if having more Jewel shards might make it possible." Miroku reasons with her. The companions all turn to Inuyasha, still having not offered the two shards he possesses.

"What?!" He snaps at them, confused by suddenly being the center of attention again of his friends. He tries playing dumb to the silent request being made, but one admiring look from Souta shames him into handing his shards over. "You know," The half-demon retorts flatly. "I wouldn't do this for just anybody." He hands over the two Jewel shards that he had hidden in a secret compartment on Tetsusaiga's sheath to Kagome.

Souta climbs up after his sister but stops as he swung a leg over the side. He looks at all of them; the monk, the demon huntress, the half-demon and the little fox-demon. They look back at him with a smile, glad to have met Kagome's brother after hearing about him for some time. Souta felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He might see Inuyasha again if and when he crosses over through the well, but he was never going to see Miroku, Sango or Shippo, ever again. The moment he went back to his own time, they will be long dead and his great adventure will be over.

"Take care of yourself Souta." Sango spoke in soft tones as she gave him a small peck on his cheek in farewell.

"Bye Souta! That was some battle we were in, huh?" Shippo chimes with a huge smile and a wave goodbye.

"May you're journey through life be long and fulfilling." Miroku spoke as he hands the boy a soutra to ward off evil spirits and making a gesture with his left hand as a blessing.

"Get lost, kid, will ya'!" Inuyasha sneers with mock dislike and a smirk.

Souta doesn't know what to say. These people were no longer vague phantoms that Kagome sometimes mentioned when she came back home. He has met them face-to-face and now he was leaving. He throws his other leg over the ledge and grasped Kagome's hand, feeling the small glass vile containing the Jewel shards in between their palms.

"'Bye everyone..." Souta's voice quivers a little. He turns to face his sister.

"Ready?" Kagome asks. He nods yes, clamping his eyes shut as he and his sister slip off the ledge and plummet into the well. Souta did not want to look at the companions again. He wants to remember them just as they were, standing at the well's ledge. The same strong upsurge of air begins whirling and blowing around him. The well vanishes in a flash of bright light and Souta discovers himself rushing through a vast black canvas of space, dotted by millions of stars and swirling lights. He marvels silently at what he sees and feels. It was like flying through space without the need of a spaceship! The sea of lights disappear in another bright flash of white light as the journey ends with the well expulsing them five or six feet into the air. The two of them fall the short distance down to hit the well floor on their butts; grumbling and cursing at the wells' rather rough treatment of its users.

Kagome observes the vile of Jewel shards in her hand; pulsing with the same bright light like they did the first time she and Souta went through the well. The light emanating from the shards is not nearly as strong or intense as before. Kagome wonders about this strange discovery about both the Jewel shards and the well itself as the small fragments dim and fade out. Souta looks up to see the roof was again over the well and the sounds of the city fill the air for him to hear. Kagome, rubbing her bruised posterior from the fall, glimpses over at her brother who was trying not to show he was disappointed at leaving the feudal era.

"Now you understand why I go, don't you?" Kagome questions her bother and he nods a little.

"I guess so." Souta answers in a quiet voice. He didn't understand, not really. He only understood that he was already missing the half-demon and his companions terribly, wishing he could help them find the Jewel shards too. But he was home in his own time now and would not have another adventure in the feudal era again. Slowly, he follows Kagome up the well's ladder and out of the well house. Outside, their mother and grandfather had been searching for them since day before yesterday. The moment of relief and joy were brief and quickly replaced with parental anger and upset at not knowing the ware bouts of their own family.

Kagome sighs wearily. "It's kind of a long story, mom, we'd better go inside and sit down and we'll explain." Late that same night, long after everyone had gone to sleep, Souta continues to toss restlessly in his bed. He could not sleep. Peeking open one eye, he read the time on his nightstand alarm clock. It was almost three am in the morning. His mind just could not unwind from his trip to the feudal era, thinking about Inuyasha and Kagome's friends there. He stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes longer, unable to relax enough to fall asleep. Sighing to himself, Souta slips out of bed to dress himself. He first reaches for his school uniform waiting on the chair, but his heart calls to him from the bottom drawer of his dresser. The one where he had put away the clothes he received as a gift. His heart aches to wear it just once more, so as to never forget how he felt being in the feudal era with his hero, even for the short length of time like he had.

Dressing himself in the dark, he quietly creeps barefoot through the house, out the kitchen door and across the shrines' courtyard to where the Bone Eater's Well is housed. He slides the door open, stepping inside to stand in front of the well's ledge, looking down into the dark hole.

"Hey, Inuyasha, you down there?" He calls quietly out to the half-demon through the darkness but knows that his hero wasn't there, just hoping he was.

Kagome had heard Souta slip out of the house, as she looks out her bedroom window, seeing her brother slowly walking back across the courtyard, his head hanging low from feeling sad. She knew he was hurting silently inside. Souta had barely eaten a thing at dinner or talked about his journey through time and he was always one to talk up a storm about anything he got involved in. She made a mental note herself that she should do something to cheer up her little brother.

A couple of weeks have past since Souta visited Inuyasha's time. Arriving home one Saturday afternoon from school, he finds Kagome has left again for the feudal era. His mother shows him the new copy of his school's newspaper. The sports section had a picture of him standing with his soccer team with a caption over the picture: 'Higurashi leads team to 3-0 shut out'.

"You made the paper! Isn't it wonderful?" His mother croons with pride in her son's achievements. Souta shrugs at the site of himself in the school paper, as if it were nothing great.

"Yeah, I guess." He despondently replies. Without a second look at his mom or grandfather he heads out the kitchen and to his room, his thoughts far away from where he was.

"What's with him? I thought he'd be thrilled to see himself in the news." Grandpa asks with a shrug and confused look.

"Ever since he came back with Kagome, he's been behaving strange. I wonder what could be bothering him." She did not like seeing her son upset but her father shirks it off.

"Bah, these kids today, they don't know how to talk anymore." Grandpa dismisses the worry his daughter had for Souta with a wave of his old hand.

"Souta, here, Kagome left this for you." Souta's mother called to him just as he entered his room. She walks down the hall and hands him a computer memory card. "She said for you to open it." Only half interested in its contents, he trudges back into his room to sit in front of the computer. At the push of a button the computer whirls to life and begins its programs. He slides the memory card into the reader with a click; the computer downloads the files onto a media-reading program. Souta's interest rises sharply as he opens the file to find a picture and a video file.

He pushes the play button on his program control screen and the video file begins playing.

"Ok, it's rolling. Wait, let me get in view first." He hears his sister's voice come through his speakers. He could see the Scared Tree that stood in the courtyard was in the backdrop of the video. He watched as Kagome and her companions walk into view from off the edge of screen.

"Hi Souta! We thought you'd like this as we wanted to all say how much we enjoyed having you here." His sister conveys happily and with a wave to the camera. "Say something Inuyasha." She prods the half-demon standing next to her.

"What am I suppose to say?" He asks her, confused at the idea of talking and looking at the strange black box sitting on a rock.

"Just say hello." Kagome urges him.

"Uh...hey there, Souta." The half-demon pauses as he tries to think of something to say. "You'd better be behaving yourself or I'm gonna' have to come over there and kick your butt!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaims in exasperation. Souta grins at hearing Inuyasha's comment about his behavior.

"Well, what the Hell am I suppose to say?! I'm talking to some weird black box that's supposed to magically show an image of me on a 'computer', whatever that is!" The half-demon was about to walk out of view but is yanked back by Kagome.

"No...no...don't go out of the picture just yet." She instructs him firmly.

"Hello Souta. I hope you are well and know we miss you very much." Sango's words warm his heart as he listens to her talk. He feels he eyes getting watery from hearing their voices again.

"Kagome's told us of your success in 'soccer'. We knew you had it in you to lead a team. Keep up the good work, my prayers are with you." Miroku congratulates him on becoming team captain and smiles approvingly.

"Hi Souta!" Shippo chirps in greeting, his face suddenly appearing huge in the camera's view. The fox-demon must have been standing right in front of the camera lens. "I hope you're doing ok and we'll keep a look out for you if you ever come back to visit again." The fox-demon's cheesy grin made Souta chuckle. Kilala was perched on Shippo's shoulder and the small creature gazes directly into the camera, its strange red eyes blinking twice in wonder of the mysterious black object its companions were talking to.

"The card's almost full, so we just wanted to tell you to keep your spirits up and know we all are very proud of you." Kagome adds in finality.

"Hey, what does this thing do?" Shippo asks with curiosity as he reaches to touch some control on the camera.

"No, Shippo, wait a..." Souta hears Kagome begin but then the video went dark. With an uplifted spirit, he opens the picture file that remained unseen.

It isn't just any picture, but a picture of Kagome standing with her companions in front of the Sacred Tree that grows in the yard! He quickly loaded a sheet of photo paper into the printer and made a copy. The twenty seconds it was taking the color printer to make his photo felt like a billion years as he could hardly wait. Kagome must have taken a digital camera with her to the feudal era the last time she went and made this surprise for him. The moment it was done and dry he hurries out of the house towards the courtyard. There, he found the spot where Kagome and her friends must have been standing in the picture. For Souta, the chasm of time instantly vanishes as he drinks in every detail of the photo. In his heat and mind, he is there with them.

"Thank you Kagome. Thank you so much." Souta felt a tear of joy run down each cheek as he held the photo close to his heart. He'd have to thank her again the minute she got home. Fin.


End file.
